Arcadia

Kittson O'Neil, Maxwell Eddy and
Alex Boyle

Lantern Theatre Company, located in St. Stephen’s Church, 10^th and Ludlow Streets, is producing Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece, Arcadia, through November 2. Stoppard gives us a unique glimpse of life in the time of Lord Byron and his contemporaries at the turn of the 19^th century as well as an in-depth peek at present-day scholars who try to glean information about that time period from journals, papers and artistic renditions that they have been found. Interestingly enough, things are not always what they seem. A hermit sketched on a landscape as a whim takes on great significance when it is discovered and studied centuries later. An assignation in the gazebo may be attributed to the wrong personage.   Sometimes research of the past is incomplete and conclusions are based on conjecture. And so Stoppard poses the hypothesis…”It is the wanting to know that makes us human. Failure is inevitable.”  With a stellar cast of 12, Lantern’s rendition of Stoppard’s Arcadia is as fascinating as it is spell-blinding. The audience is transported effortlessly between centuries and, at times, is able to become involved in the happenings of both centuries simultaneously. Humor abounds in both, although 19^th Century  Thomasina (Alex Boyle) her mother Lady Croom (Charlotte Northeast) and her tutor Septimus (Maxwell Eddy put on a very serious front as do researchers Hannah Jarvis (Kittson O’Neil) and Bernard Nightingale (Joe Guzman) two centuries later.  Be intrigued. Be captivated. But by all means, be in the audience for at least one performance of Arcadia. To coincide with this production Lantern Theater is presenting a four day festival of special events from October 23-26.  For more information about the festival or tickets to the production, phone 215-829-0395 or visit online at www.lanterntheater.org.